together in agreement. A collaborative
strategy is positively linked to communication satisfaction and partner ability
and trust. 9

The collaborating style is synonymous with the cooperating style under
the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory.
This conflict management style has a
high focus on the agenda and the relationship with the other party. This type
of conflict management style works best
when the individuals involved in the
conflict situation have a mutual respect
and trust one another. When the cooperating style is used both parties are satisfied because both of their needs have
been met; however, this conflict management style can take up a large amount of
the individuals’ time and take away from
other important tasks.

Compromising

A compromising conflict management
strategy involves trying to find a “
common ground” that partly satisfies both
parties. 5 With this strategy, individuals
realize that every party cannot always
be entirely satisfied in every conflict
situation. 8 The parties accept that there
are times when one must be ready to
set apart individual wants and needs in
preference for others in order to find a
“common ground.” In Sportsman and
Hamilton’s study of nursing and allied
health students, the compromising strategy was chosen most, closely followed by
avoidance. 4 Reich, Wagner-Westbrook,
and Kressel showed educational level was
positively correlated with a compromising style and negatively correlated with
an accommodating style. 10 The supervisors in their study chose compromising
as the most prominent conflict management strategy.

Kraybill describes the compromising with a medium focus on the agenda
and the relationship with the other party
involved in the conflict. When individuals use this type of conflict management
style, they possess a sense of fairness and
realism. Even though this type of conflict management style may seem like the
“best” style, it can often lead to problems.

Over time, individuals will get tired of
always getting a little, but never being
fully satisfied.

Avoiding

This strategy is used when both parties’
distresses are ignored by not addressing the problem. 5 The avoiding strategy
is characterized by the acceptance that
any effort to either discuss or contest
the conduct of another is desperate and
pointless. 8 Those who use an avoiding
approach have very little concern for
their own desires; it is not unusual to find
these people purposely removing themselves from situations that could lead to
possible disagreements. These individuals are not likely to be self-confident, fail
to pursue support from coworkers, and
are incapable of taking a strong stand
on conflicting issues. Often individuals
who use an avoiding conflict management strategy may choose not to reply
or develop a state of unawareness. The
radiologic sciences students from Sportsman and Hamilton’s study chose the
avoidance conflict management strategy
most often. 4 Several studies have found
that nurses tend to choose the avoiding
style of conflict management. 1, 8 Avoidance can be a valued conflict management
strategy when the matters instigating the
conflict are of low significance. 8

One study describes two types ofconflict management strategies: agree-able and disagreeable. 1 Individuals whouse agreeable conflict management aremore likely to incorporate one another’sideas through teamwork and try to fulfillthe expectations of everyone. This typeof conflict management makes work lessconflicting over time. The disagreeablestyle of conflict management circum-vents conflict all together or focuses onhaving only the individual’s ideas andneeds met. This type of conflict man-agement results in a hostile and stressedwork environment. This study found thatnurses working in teams with high con-flict were more apt to manage conflictwith a disagreeable style (dominationor avoidance). 1 Nurses were cautiousto become involved in open debate toresolve the condition. When high conflictwas present, nurses were more likely toavoid discussing the condition because ofdistress or apprehension, or they chose todominate the condition.

The avoiding conflict response has
a low focus on agenda and relationship
under Kraybill’s scale. 7 In other words,
the individual is not concerned with
what the conflict is about or the other
party involved in the situation. This style
is used by individuals who are the silent,
non-confrontational type, or by individuals who feel they are simply “too good”
to be involved with the whole situation.
When the avoiding style is used over a
period of time it can lead to stagnation within a department. Individuals
will become less involved and feel less
accountable for their actions. However,
the avoiding approach can be the proper
style to use in trivial conflicts with individuals whose relationship is inconsequential.

Accommodating

An accommodating style of conflict
management involves neglecting one’s
own concerns in order to satisfy the concerns of others. 5 This strategy is regarded
as the acceptance that the preservation
of pleasant interpersonal affairs is more
significant than forming disagreements
among colleagues. 8 Individuals adopting an accommodating style of conflict
management have a high want for recognition and support from others. The
accommodating individual is more apt
to take a “middle of the road” attitude
when an inescapable conflict emerges.
These individuals tend to use apology
or humor, or express their desires in an
indirect way rather than coming straight
to the problem.

Kraybill refers to accommodating as
a harmonizing conflict response. 7 The
harmonizing style has a low focus on
the agenda and a high focus on the relationship. Individuals will often use this
style when they want to fit in with the
other party. When this style is over-used
the individual will eventually become
depressed due to the fact of always